Stacy Galt, cousin of Darcie Clarke, whose three children were killed by their deranged father, Allan Schoenborn, in 2008, sits with Prime Minister Stephen Harper as he announced tougher laws for mentally ill offenders. (THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES)

The Harper government’s announcement Friday that is plans to introduce legislation allowing judges to lock up mentally ill offenders for longer periods is a step backward for mental-health care in Canada.

The move is little more than a cynical vote-grabbing, get-tough-on-crime ploy that ignores what doctors know about mental health and “solves” a problem that does not actually exist. Canada is already well served by the current forensic mental-health review boards, which consider yearly how incarcerated mentally ill offenders are doing and whether it is safe to give them greater freedom. The people who decide whether a violent offender can be released or have day passes are careful and consider the facts.

Harper’s populist concerns for victims, while understandable, are misguided. Individuals such as Darcie Clarke, who lost her three children to their father’s madness, will likely never recover from that loss. How could she, or anyone else in a similar situation? Whether a victims’ next of kin attends a hearing once a year, or every three years, the pain will always be there. The government is wrong to use such an extreme, emotional case to go after a system that works. The proposed law appeals to vengeance, not justice.

The insanity defence is rare in Canada and only used in cases of real mental illness. If such cases are on the rise, it is largely because of the well-documented shortage in mental-health care offered by Ottawa and the provinces. Improving services to the mentally ill to prevent future tragedy is where Ottawa should focus its efforts.

Editorials are unsigned opinion pieces that represent the views of The Province editorial board, a group of senior editors.

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